The Defiant
Did Pax decriminalise homosexuality and legalise gay marriage?
Kinda, sorta, maybe, no
4 July 2024
Jamal Ru’utalak
Pax passed a law called the Best Friends Act (literally the most adorable name for a piece of statute in history). The Crescent explains what law entails quite satisfactorily, so we won’t go into the actual content of the law itself, just it’s implications.
The law and its proponents are very insistent that homosexuality remains illegal. But in reality, they make homosexuality so difficult to prove, and provide practically all of the benefits of marriage that gay rights activists would be fighting for, that in reality they’ve given gay rights. Public affection and sexual intercourse outside of marriage is forbidden for everyone, so no special clearance on that front.
But if we look deeper, does a rose by any other name smell just as sweet? The thing about being gay is that one often wants it to be known. We want to love whomever we please without being ashamed of it. And the Pax government still clouds it in shame. Besties, as the Crescent puts it, are forced to disavow and condemn homosexuality. I imagine that a gay couple that registers as besties will be reminded of the shame and hatred that surrounds their relationship.
And I feel that creating the best friend alternative practically stops all potential decriminalisation of homosexuality in its tracks. Any moves to make homosexuality legal and afford gay and other LGBTQIA+ folk formal protection and rights will be stopped. It’s kind of like getting close to your destination but the road suddenly stopping. Yeah, sure you’re close, but are you there if you’re not there?
The fact that the White Paper for this law is clearly rooted in Paxist beliefs about friendship, not a liberal march toward different types of relationships, it shows that there is no political liberalisation. It’s just an accident that they doubled down so hard on theocracy that we got limited improvement in gay rights by accident.
Gay rights tend to accompany the rights of women, children, sex workers, transgender persons and other groups. So if gay rights are not explicitly part of the agenda, I am extremely reluctant to give the Packilvanian government any form of praise. I would encourage the Packilvanian LGBT+ rights movement to stand firm and continue the fight!